Page 13 of A Game of Monsters (Realm of Fey #4)

There was one way in and out of the Below, and that was through its only door. I’d visited the prison beneath Lockinge Castle twice before and had vowed to never return. Once was as a prisoner, and the last time was to free those fey held captive – fey the world outside the Below had forgotten existed. Never did I expect that I’d have to step foot in it again. But I trusted Seraphine implicitly. If she believed Rafaela was being kept here, then she was.

I didn’t know what I was thinking as I made my way through familiar connecting corridors and grand, linking foyers. If Rafaela was being kept beneath the castle, it would be for a reason. I hardly imagined she’d be without guards. So, when I came into sight of the Below’s entrance, I expected to find Nephilim standing vigil.

The entrance was unguarded.

In fact, it was left slightly ajar, as if the universe knew I was coming. Perhaps this was Seraphine’s doing? She’d know I was impulsive and would go to the Below the moment I could. Had there been Nephilim here that she’d dealt with? Surely that was the case.

Checking the coast was clear behind me, I opened the nondescript wooden door and slipped inside. The walkway beyond was set on a decline and completely shrouded in shadow. I used my hands, trialling them against the rough stone walls, making sure I didn’t walk face first into them.

I continued until a speck of light glowed far ahead of me, signalling the end of the dark corridor. It would soon open up to a cavernous hole, with narrow steps carved into the face of the rocky cave that was the prison.

My body buzzed with the need to reach Rafaela, my mind whispering terrible outcomes, taunting me.

My heavy breathing echoed around me, playing back to me as if I was groaning in resistance. But I wasn’t. In fact, I was making as little sound as possible. I held my breath, and the sound continued. I supposed this place, these very stone walls, held the memories of those who suffered here. Or maybe it was simply my mind, tricking me into remembering the atrocities Aldrick used the Below for.

I stepped into the light, ready to get my first view down upon the pit, when I smelled blood.

Fresh blood. One inhalation and the copper taste clung to the back of my throat. Clapping a hand over my mouth, I stepped onto the podium at the top of the stone steps and peered down into the Below.

What I saw almost brought me to my knees.

The groaning that I’d thought was my own doing didn’t belong to me. It came from another person, the very one I’d been trying to contact for weeks.

Rafaela.

But she wasn’t alone.

“Rafaela,” I bellowed, panic flaring inside of me alongside magic.

My shout stopped whatever the second person was doing to her. I saw white wings, dark hair and muscle, but as the second person turned up to look at what caused the ruckus, I finally figured out who was with her.

Cassial – all wing splendour and golden armour – spun to look up at me with eyes full of wild fury. In his hand he held a bloodied saw, the vicious metal teeth coated in downy feathers, blood and… flesh. Her flesh.

Rafaela knelt on the floor before him, both wrists bound by chain and attached to a bolt in the wall ahead of her. Even from a distance, I worked out what was happening.

Her back, naked and exposed, was no longer shielded by her dove-grey wings. Protruding from both shoulder blades were mutilated stumps of sinew and bone, dripping fresh gore down her skin until it puddled beneath her. Rafaela’s head hung low, her body quaking.

Cassial was severing her wings, but from the old scars beneath blood-soaked skin, I knew this wasn’t the first time.

I didn’t have time to think. There wasn’t room for thoughts amongst the roaring maelstrom in my mind.

Only action.

Magic exploded inside of my veins like a dying star, bright, brilliant and desperate.

I had to stop Cassial from continuing this horror. Now . There was no time to waste.

There were so many stairs for me to run down to reach her. Instead, my power loosed from its cage. Not as powerful as it had been when fuelled by one of Altar’s keys. But I still had enough.

For Rafaela, it would have to do.

I vaulted over the podium’s wall, my body dropping through the air like a stone in freefall. Fingers flexing, power seeping outwards, the moisture-heavy air solidified beneath me. A sheet of ice spread like a frozen wave, catching my boots until I slipped down it. My stomach muscles tensed, my thighs burned, but I held myself steady as I shot through the air, guided by the ice floor I continued to conjure from the thick air.

I came to a rolling stop on the ground floor, mere inches from where Cassial stood. His large, imposing body blocked my view of Rafaela, but I’d seen enough. The damage was forever imprinted in my mind.

The blood, the saw, the scars new and old.

Gone were the reasons I came to Lockinge. All I cared about was stopping Cassial from hurting Rafaela. Fuck the wedding and his treaty – all of it.

“This is not the place for your meddling, Robin Icethorn,” Cassial sneered, voice booming around the stone pit. He held the bloodied saw before him – something that should only be used for cutting dried wood, not flesh and bone – like a shield.

Or perhaps a weapon.

However, with the magic flooding through me, I hardly felt threatened by it. Which was a shame for him. Because if he had his shield with him, perhaps he had a chance against me.

“The last man… to hold a weapon over me… didn’t live for long.” I could barely get my words out, as if my body decided words mattered little in a moment like this. In the dark and furious parts of my brain, I saw the Hunter who held an axe above my neck, prepared to bring it down and sever my head from my shoulders.

“It would not be wise to threaten me.” Cassial’s eyes widened. “In my own city, after we have graciously accepted you as our guest of honour.”

Spit and bile brewed in my mouth. I gathered it into a ball and spat it on the dusted floor before Cassial’s blood-splattered boots.

“ Your city?” I seethed. “It seems like this concept of being the Saviour has gone to your head.”

Cassial’s wings flared wide, the span of them so impressive I was coated in shadow. He flapped them, growling as he prepared to get skyward, the saw dripping Rafaela’s blood onto the ground between us.

I wasn’t going to let him get away with this.

Before Cassial’s feet left the ground, they crystalised in mounds of ice, diamond-hard. He growled a song of frustration, wings pounding harder, forcing blood-tainted winds over me. I held firm, squinting against the force. My magic took those winds and wrapped them around us both. Like unseen fingers, I forced my power of storm and snow into Cassial’s throat, until I was aware of every ounce of air in his lungs, his body, his fucking blood–

“You lied,” I spat.

Weeks of pent-up emotion was on the brink of exploding out on him. Frost split the air, spreading across the natural sweat across his wings until I turned even his own bodily fluids against him. Ice crept over each feather, making them heavier, until he could no longer move them.

Cassial’s eyes bulged, his fear singing straight to my twisted soul. As much as I could’ve killed him, there was a part of me that knew it would have led to more trouble. So I withdrew enough magic for him to reply, needing his answers. Depending on what came out of his mouth, he would live past the next few minutes or die at my hand.

“This is none… of your business,” Cassial gasped, ice cracking over his jaw. “The matters we deal with are between the Nephilim and the Nephilim alone.”

I expected Cassial to submit to me, but he didn’t. Even with his body heavy with ice, his wings powerless and legs immobile, he never stopped fighting.

“If anyone is the Saviour, it is her,” I shouted, pointing toward the all-too-still body of Rafaela. “And yet you mutilate her for what reasons?”

“Rafaela belongs to us.” Cassial smashed one leg free of my icy bindings. “She is ours to do with as we wish. Her crimes–”

“ Fuck her crimes.” Every ounce of emotion rushed out of me, no longer controlled. “It means nothing, all of it means nothing.”

Something snapped in Cassial, as though he read through my reaction and paused. I felt his resistance fade away so quickly, I almost sagged against the sudden draining of my energy. I was no longer a bottomless well of power – I was moments from reaching the end.

Something warm trickled out of my nose. If my hands weren’t focused on controlling the ice and wind, I would’ve found blood slipping over my lips.

Cassial noticed and smiled. “Are you sure, Robin Icethorn? Because of Rafaela’s actions, look at you. No longer the powerful King of the Icethorn Court. You have limits, a bottom to a once endless well of power. All because she coerced you into destroying Altar’s keys.” His gaze tracked over me, from my bloody nose to the slight quiver of my legs. “How long are you going to keep this little party trick up? Until it kills you, or until your meddling in Nephilim affairs ruins any hope for peace between us?”

As if I could ever contemplate peace with you.

I released the reins of my power, reserving the last scraps of it, just in case the moment required it. Cassial kicked free of the ice at his feet and shins, shaking his wings so the capsules of ice on each feather cracked and fell like sleet around him.

He raised the serrated saw, lips drawn back in a snarl, gaze completely lost to his need for vengeance. “I should have known you would come looking for her. As if those little letters you relentlessly sent were not proof of your guilt-born obsession with Rafaela. It would have been wiser for you to take my word that she was in Irobel and leave it at that. But no–”

“I will not turn a blind eye to your mistreatment of Rafaela. Not now, not tomorrow or the days that follow. If you raise a feather against her, do so knowing you will face my wrath.”

Cassial stopped, the saw paused inches from my face. I refused to flinch, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“It is too late for such idle threats,” he seethed.

“Threats aren’t something I toy with, Cassial,” I said. “Only promises.”

He laughed at me, blood splattering over his pristine outfit, reminding me of the almost-too-silent woman chained just behind him. “The treaty is all but signed. The wedding is proceeding.” His pale gaze narrowed on me. “You will not ruin any of this, the damage you’ve caused is enough.”

I lifted a steady finger, dropped it on the tip of the saw and guided it out of my face.

“Harm me, and you can say goodbye to the treaty you’ve worked so hard to finalise. Althea, Elinor, Gyah – everyone back in the hall knows where I am.” It was my turn to smile, knowing that I’d gotten Cassial into a corner.

I stepped in closer to the saw, testing him. Cassial knew, just as I had worked out in the wanting glint in his eyes, that if he harmed me, it would start a war. We had found ourselves at a stand-off neither one of us wanted.

“What will it be then, Robin? Will we take the path that threatens the peace we have cultivated in the months since Rafaela’s betrayal?” Cassial straightened. “Or the one which leads to contentions neither party will survive?”

“You keep talking about this treaty as if I would ever sign it knowing what you are capable of,” I said, reminding him of the fact. “Not to mention Althea. Do you really think she will go ahead with a wedding if she knows what you have done with Rafaela? She will burn this fucking castle down. Cassial, Durmain would burn.”

“And threaten the relations between our kinds?” Cassial slowly lowered the saw. “Althea is a woman of measure and thought. There is no future in which she would act against the Nephilim over one person. Not like you, however. How selfish you truly are, Robin Icethorn.”

“If helping my friend is selfish, then I wear that crown with pride.”

Cassial’s eyes narrowed on me, the disdain in them palpable. “You know exactly what I mean. You dare intervene in the Creator’s will, over and over. First destroying the keys, and now you wish to put a thorn in our own beliefs and processes. Do you truly believe you are above His word?”

I looked around the pit, unable to stop the sharp-tongued sarcasm from coming out of me. “I don’t see the Creator anywhere here. If this… despicable action was something he wanted, he’d be here. Instead, you’re the one standing before me.”

“I am His–”

“Shield,” I spat. “Protector of His word. Not avenger or punisher!”

I risked a glance to Rafaela, who was slumped over, balled on the floor with the bleeding stumps pumping fresh blood out onto the stone floor. “Leave, Cassial. Do not make matters any worse than they already need to be.”

“What’s done is done.” Cassial looked as though he was seconds from taking matters into his own hands, again. I had to stop him. “There is no moving past this, we both know that.”

A plan formulated in my mind, one I could use to manipulate Cassial into giving me what I wanted. And now, I didn’t only need Rafaela for Duncan’s sake, but her own.

“Actually, there is something,” I said. “If you are willing to listen.”

I saw the moment of hope that passed behind Cassial’s eyes. If there was one thing clear, besides his vile tendencies, it was that he wanted his well-thought-out plans to proceed. “A proposal?”

“You could say that. I will keep your dirty fucking secret,” I spat. “No one else needs to know about what you are doing here. But for that, I will need to go back and tell my friends that I have found Rafaela, and she is well, considering each and every one of them know I am here.”

Cassial blanched, panic seeping across his expression. “You told them?”

“That you previously lied, yes. I did. But I suppose it was only an accusation until proven, so what news I take back to them will certainly affect how the fragile hours to follow will proceed.”

“And you would happily lie to your friends on my behalf?” Cassial asked, head cocked slightly to the side, the very same gesture Duncan used. The rawness of it caught my breath.

“Yes, I would lie to them if it meant protecting them.”

It pained me to say it, but it was the truth. In fact, lying to them about Rafaela was no different to what other mistruths had left my mouth.

I needed Cassial to think rationally, and for that I wouldn’t tell anyone. If I told anyone else about what I’d found, it would bring an end to the wedding and start a conflict between the fey and Nephilim, thus dividing the world further than it already had been.

My goal was to save the world from Duwar. Starting a civil war was counterproductive. And for my plan, I needed Rafaela.

“Not so selfish as you thought, am I?” I asked, the hateful bite in my tone only getting worse.

“Your word means little to me.” Cassial glowered, large hands balled into fists, wings still out and ready to use against me. “We invite you into our home, host your celebrations, work to unify the world your kind failed many years ago. And here you come, looking in places that do not belong to you. Why would you think I would believe you now?”

I held his stare, ensuring he not only heard my honest emotion but saw it reflected in my dark eyes. “My word is all I have. But I promise, on my life, on Icethorn–”

Cassial smirked. “I will need a vow with more weight, Robin Icethorn.”

I swallowed hard. It didn’t take a scholar to understand what he was suggesting. “Then I swear it, on Duncan’s life, that no one will know of Rafaela. I will play along, but only if you give her to me. See that the only person to touch her is a healer. Going forwards, Rafaela will belong to me. If you believe punishment is justified, let it be the Creator who hands it out. Not you, or anyone else for that matter.”

Cassial winced, clearly pained by my reminder that he was no god. Cassial, no matter his angelic proportions, was mortal enough to be affected by an ego. And if I was to win this battle, I had to use that against him.

“Rafaela is Nephilim, we have our ways–”

“I’d suggest you agree to my proposal if you wish peace to last longer than lunchtime today.”

Cassial huffed out his nose like a bull readying to charge. If he did, I would stand still and take it. “Would you ruin the relations between the fey and humans over one person?”

“Who said anything about going against the humans, Cassial?” I tilted my head, drunk on the power. “It will be the Nephilim and their ways we will fight back against, and you know no one will benefit from that.”

Silence thrummed between us, thick as a blanket of iron weighing down.

“If I agree to this exchange, it will only be on the understanding that you sign the treaty. I will give you until tonight,” Cassial said, breaking the tension. “Before the ball, you will visit me and sign your name. Give me your support, help confirm a connection between the fey and human realms, and I will take that as proof of your promise that I can trust your word. Do not come to me, and I will understand the defiance for what it is.”

My lip curled over my teeth. “I will sign the moment Rafaela is confirmed to be headed for Icethorn lands.”

He lowered his head enough that it looked as though he was looking at me through his lashes. “Sign the treaty, Robin, and I will allow you to be the one to take her. Bring her to the Icethorn Court and you can deal with her treachery. She will be your thorn instead of mine.” He looked back, pity and hate creased across darkening eyes as he regarded the bleeding Nephilim. “Rafaela has no place amongst us anymore, her betrayal proved as much.”

“I accept,” I said quickly, body trembling with the need to help her, to get him far away so I could make sure she was not going to die of these wounds.

In his way of agreeing, Cassial dropped the saw. It clattered against the ground, the sound making me wince. “That was the right decision.”

“I hope so,” I muttered, already making a move for Rafaela until Cassial stepped in the way, imposing with his broad frame.

“You are right, Robin. I am the Creator’s shield – the remaining guardian of the Nephilim. But I am also His chosen Saviour. It is my duty alone to save this world, to bring forth the time in which our Lord desired. And I will do anything to protect His legacy. Anything .”

I gritted my teeth, biting on the insides of my cheeks to stop myself from saying something that would make matters worse. Cassial took my silence as acceptance. I flinched as he reached into his pocket. He withdrew a small key and threw it at me without warning, like a bone to a dog. That was how he saw me.

Cassial smiled down at me like a cat who got the cream, then flapped his wings until he was airborne. He flew out of the Below, landing atop the dais I’d thrown myself from. I held myself firm, forcing the last dregs of strength and control into my legs, until I was confident Cassial had left.

Then I settled my eyes on the damage before me, and all that control left me.

“I’m here,” I said, voice breaking, fighting the urge to vomit as I knelt beside Rafaela’s raised hands, unsure what to do with them. “Rafaela, it’s Robin. Can you hear me? I’ve got you. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”

Her breathing was shallow, proving she still lived. Rafaela was the strongest person I’d ever known. She’d returned to Cassial, knowing punishment awaited her. And I understood that the lack of a locked gate down here, the vacant place where guards should stand, only suggested Rafaela had stayed here out of her own choice.

It broke me, brick by brick, until I was no different to the destroyed half of my castle back home. Because no matter how cruel this treatment, Rafaela believed she deserved it.